


Shot Through the Heart (And You're to Blame)

by herestothedemigods



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-15
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-15 20:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1317535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herestothedemigods/pseuds/herestothedemigods
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school AU, and the new school year is bringing changes to the group of friends. Jason takes a particular interest in freshman Nico di Angelo's life by standing up for him whenever possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! It's Olivia :) I'm exciting about starting this fic, but I honestly have no idea if I'm going to go anywhere with it... I've also got some ideas for other Jasico fics, but I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for reading!

"And Paris took Helen from her husband…?" But the bell rang before anyone could answer Mr. Dion could call on a student for an answer. "Dismissed," he said, turning back to his desk. Dejectedly, the junior in the front row with blonde curly hair lowered her hand and muttered King Menelaus under her breath. The students around her, backpacks already packed, rushed out the door.

The kids pushed and shoved while a few hung back a moment, speaking to each other and letting the crowd pass through first.

"You were planning on coming to the football game, right?" Jason said to Leo. "It's homecoming. You can't just miss homecoming for the Star Trek marathon on Syfy. They'll have it again."

"The marathon was last weekend," Leo responded. "And I haven't made up my mind yet. But I bet everyone else is going. And there's the dance on Saturday. I'll be at that."

Jason's dramatic sigh was for show, but it made it clear he wanted his friend to be at the game. Hazel chipped in, trying to cheer her friend up.

"I get you're nervous, Jace," she said teasingly. "Frank and I'll be there. And Percy and Annabeth are coming. Piper's already sworn she's going and Thalia's home just to see you play. I honestly don't know what more you want."

The blonde rolled his eyes and followed his friends last out the door. Lunch, he thought. I want lunch.

 

"What do you mean Katie isn't going with Travis to homecoming anymore?" Piper said wide eyed to her tablemates, mainly Hazel. Jason regarded the gossip as exactly what it was, and quietly ignored it.

Hazel's hands went up in protest. "Just what I heard."

"So how're swim meets going?"

"What time is the game again on Friday?"

Endless chatter at their table rattled around in Jason's head. He sat dazed for a moment, not even realizing he spaced out when someone called his name.

"Jason," Piper said, leaning her head toward him. "You alright?"

He shook the fuzziness out of his head. "What? Yeah. Yes. It's just…loud today," he said, coming up with a lame excuse.

Percy rolled his eyes at his friend, but Piper gave him sympathy. "You don't need to be nervous for Friday. This week is supposed to be fun, and the team is gonna do great." Jason smiled at her thinly.

At the end of lunch, he got up to throw his trash away and quickly made his way to his next class. Jason needed to overcome his nerves. But he had never gotten nervous for football before, so he couldn't place his finger on why he was so jittery. Maybe it was the dance…was he nervous about going with Piper?

Piper McLean moved over the summer. Jason only met her in September, and he asked her to be his date to the homecoming weeks before the dance.

But Jason was superman. He didn't get nervous around girls. He didn't get nervous for sports. His grades were good, his friends were great.

"Grace" Annabeth called to him as he was walking down the hall to his math class. "Wait up." Jason slowed his pace for Annabeth to catch up to him, and they continued walking. "I wanted to ask you something about the dance."

"Yeah?"

"Pictures. Your house this year or mine. I mean, I know they've been at yours every year, but I wanted to know if you wanted a year off. It is after all your first year with the varsity game the day before. If your parents have too much stuff going on, we can always have it at my—"

"Annabeth," he broke in, shutting her off like a switch. "Either works. Actually, my house still. I think Thalia misses everyone, she'd love to visit with you guys. But hey, catch up with you later. I need to get to class—oh hey Dakota," he said to his teammate heading in the opposite direction down the hallway. Jason parted, and Annabeth continued down the hall to her AP Environmental Science class.

 

Jason's last two classes were productive, and he met up with his friends in the hallway for a few minutes before heading to the locker room for football practice. Frank found him first, tenor saxophone case in hand, but promptly left because he had marching band rehearsal that night and needed to get his homework done.

"Hey Nico," Jason said to the small ninth grader dwarfed by his army jacket who walked by. Under it, he was wearing a black shirt with a band name he had never heard of and tattered jeans.

"Hey Jason," he said, and continued walking out the door. The response was nothing out of the ordinary for the boy. Nico had always been a quiet kid, especially after his sister—Hazel's half-sister—died in a car accident a few years ago. He was just glad he still had Hazel, who was also a freshman. Jason had tried before to be friends with Nico, but his attempts always seemed futile.

After chatting with Percy and Annabeth for a moment, he made his way to the locker room, giving the two their space. Percy and Annabeth had always been friends with the others, but Jason had always wondered if they ever wanted time together alone. After all, they'd been dating since eighth grade. Everyone was used to the idea of them together—there was no more walking on eggshells.

The team played well that night and the coach kept them after an extra half hour. Jason got home late for dinner, but his mom didn't mind. She was just in the garage working on some project and had forgotten about heating him food anyways. He yelled hello to her as he walked in the house and he cooked himself a big bowl of pasta, relaxing on the couch after an exhausting day at school. He had a few moments to himself before he had to get ready to cheer on the girls at the Powder Puff football game. And only a few more days till his game. But in that moment, he could just sit and unwind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading. 
> 
> Comments are Elsa singing Let it Go
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Olivia


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Goode High School wins their homecoming football game and Jason wins a fight against rowdy sophomores...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone's doing wonderful! My weekend has been really busy, but I somehow found time to read a 20k word Percico/Pernico (which is it?) fic called You're Never Lost at Sea by kat777 on here--you should totally check it out.

The Goode High School Giants beat the Manhattan Monkeys in overtime, much to everyone’s elation. Frank was having an after party at his house, as he did with every football game, and all his friends would be there. It was tradition that the team would go out for pizza afterwards, but it was optional, and Jason had just spent three hours around the sweaty guys. It was time for him to have fun with his closer friends. 

Leo and Percy, who had a car, waited for Jason to emerge from the locker room after the game while the others got a head start and headed over to Frank’s house. Before Jason made it into the street, though, he heard sickening sounds that made his stomach fall. 

Down against the side of the building, three boys were advancing upon someone. It was too dark to tell who, but Jason didn’t care—the kid looked like he was in trouble. 

“Let me go!” he cried, bringing up his fist to catch one of them in the nose. The three stepped back from him, shocked at his force and apparent strength. 

“Pin him down,” he heard a nasally, cocky voice say to his peers. “Michael, make sure he doesn’t kick when I sock the faggot in the face.”

Nothing could help the uneasy feeling in his stomach, but Jason quickly walked over to the boys, approaching their backs so they didn’t see him. 

“You heard him,” he growled. “Let him go.” The boys quickly turned their heads, surprised by the newcomer. Jason had just enough light now to see that their punching bag was none other than Nico di Angelo. 

“You should leave,” one said, the boy who was speaking just a moment ago. 

“Nico,” Jason said calmly, trying his best to get everyone out of the situation with as few punches as possible. “Don’t you have a party to be at? Percy’s got the car running, I thought you headed over with Hazel a while ago.”

The young boy, dressed all in black was not happy. His hair was hanging in his face, he was grimacing, and his dark eyes bore holes into Jason’s head. Jason was lying, Nico never came to the parties. But his sister always went, and he knew of them. He was probably invited, too, but always chose not to come. 

“Right,” Nico said coldly, in a voice that made a chill run down his spine. “Yeah, I was on my way. Thanks.”

The three boys, who looked to be about Nico’s age or older parted quickly without a word. Jason, a junior, had seniority over them, and they’d hate to get in serious trouble for their actions. Jason extended a hand to help Nico up from the ground, but Nico rejected it. 

As soon as the bullies were out of earshot, Nico hissed, “I didn’t need your help, Grace. I don’t know what gave you the idea that you should come in and save the day, but I can handle them myself.”

Dumbstruck, Jason was quiet for a moment. His eyebrows furrowed. “Most people say thanks, you know. So you’re welcome. Now come on.”

“I’m not coming with you,” Nico interjected. 

“You really think I’ll let you stay here by yourself with those guys around waiting for me to leave? I’d be a horrible friend to—”

“We’re not friends.”

“The point still stands. Come on, Hazel will be there. Oh shoot, you’re bleeding.” Nico brought a hand up and touched his lip, drawing it back to see silvery blood in the flood lights.

“It’s fine,” he said quickly. “Just a cut lip. You really won’t want to be seen hanging around me much longer, you know. I’m kinda a freak if you haven’t noticed.” When Jason didn’t move, he added, “Now shoo.”

“You socked that guy in the face pretty hard,” he just said. “Look, Percy’s pulling up with the car.” A black Ford was pulling up towards them, having noticed Jason standing there with his enormous bag of equipment. “Now let’s go.” Jason said it as more of a demand than a request, and surprisingly Nico followed. He got to the car before Jason and pulled open the passenger side door for him. Nico followed, next, pulling the door closed behind him.

Inside the car, Percy was blasting music and Leo was shouting the lyrics, seemingly as loud as he could. When Percy noticed the small kid freshman in the back seat, who was pretty hard to spot wearing all black, he turned the music down.

“Hey…Nico,” Percy said, trying as hard as possible to keep the awkward out of his voice. “You coming to Frank’s too?”

Nico was silent, slumping in his seat, and Jason answered for him. “Yep, I ran into him on the way out of here. Let’s get going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the chapter was okay? Yes? No?  
> Let me know what you think in the comments! 
> 
> Comments are reading your favorite book on a rainy day.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Olivia


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Frank and the gang play Monopoly, and Nico does surprisingly well. The others discuss the upcoming dance, and their plans to hang out again afterwards...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm a bit surprised I've got another chapter done and ready, but here it is (quite unedited--sorry about that). But I like my streak of every other day so far, and I'm not in any mood to ruin that. This weekend I have a robotics competition (yes, I'm a geek), so I probably won't update till Sunday at the earliest. Sorry about that!

A common misconception about teenagers is that their interest in fun things is very different from their elders. While true among many examples, Frank’s friends had an atypical love for board games.

When Frank pulled his ancient boxes of Monopoly and Sorry from the cabinet in his living room, everyone spread out on the ground to make room for the board.

“Which first?” he said, indicating the two boxes in his hands. Nico looked a little uncomfortable in the setting, all of the friends so close, him so distant, but he sat between Hazel and Jason, and everyone was friendly to him. Those paying attention to him, which was everyone but Leo and Percy, nodded towards his left hand which was holding Monopoly. He quickly set up the game and Hazel helped him divide the money.

“I call being the racecar!” Percy said, his attention immediately switching to Frank, who quickly tossed him the token.

“Battleship,” Leo said. 

“Dog,” said Annabeth from her spot next to Frank. She took the piece from Frank with her hand that wasn’t latched onto Percy’s.

“Cat, please,” came from Hazel.

“I’ll take the thimble,” said Piper, not wanting whichever piece was last, which was usually the wheelbarrow. 

“And I’ll have the shoe,” Jason said, taking his usual token from the bag. 

“Nico?” Frank said to the boy who hadn’t spoken up once, except to say hello when he walked in the door. 

“Whatever’s left,” he said courteously, leaving Frank with the top hat, and Nico with the leftover wheelbarrow. 

Money was distributed and cards were set on and near the board in their proper locations. Frank passed the dice to Annabeth, saying she could start the game. 

Everyone made a goal of reigning over at least one color, and building it up from there. Many trades were made, though about halfway through the game it was already clear who was doing the best. Nico was sitting in his built up corner of the board, stacked with houses and hotels, with a pile of cash the size of Olympus. He stayed mostly quiet as they played, though the ghost of a smile appeared on his face and lingered for the remainder of the night. 

Frank’s grandmother, who was stayed with Frank and his dad, brought in a plate of cookies and everyone took a break to talk and eat. Conversations mostly centered around the previous football game and the upcoming dance. And eventually, for lack of better things to talk about, conversation switched to Nico.

“So are you going, Nico?” Piper asked politely.

“To what?” he answered bewildered.

“The dance,” Leo finished, and Nico smirked.

“I don’t do dances,” he said with a grin playing on his lips. “I’d rather watch people dance then try to do it myself.”

“He’s right,” Hazel contributed. “Mom signed me up for ballroom dance lessons awhile ago, and he came to the first one. It was a good thing he stopped coming before he broke an ankle or two.” Nico blushed and rolled his eyes, but the others laughed. 

Good spirited, Nico nodded. “It’s true. What about you guys, are you all going?”

The juniors and Hazel all nodded their heads, except for Leo who sat with a twisted smile on his face. 

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. 

“You promised me you would go if Goode won the football game,” Jason said, “which we did!”

“And it is pretty late to ask someone,” Frank pointed out. 

“I never said I didn’t have a date,” Leo said, holding his hands up in defense. 

“Well, do you?” Annabeth countered. 

“No.”

“Exactly,” Frank said. 

The high schooler’s banter continued until the cookie plate was clear, mind a few crumbs. Nico was glad the attention was no longer on him, but he did want to bring everyone back to the game.

“Should we get back to the game?” Nico suggested.

“Yeah, what time is it?” Hazel asked. 

“Almost 11:15,” Percy said, pulling out his phone and putting it back away.

“Yeah, we better keep playing if we want to finish the game tonight,” Piper said. 

In just a few short rounds of turns, Nico wiped out Piper and Frank. The remaining piles of money in the others hands was slowly diminishing. It wasn’t long until Hazel was out, too, then Leo. Percy, Jason, Annabeth and Nico kept battling it out until it was almost midnight. 

“Alright guys,” Annabeth said loudly, breaking the monotony of the game and waking up Piper who was starting to drift off next to Jason against the base of the couch. “It’s almost midnight, and I need a ride home. That means you, Seaweed Brain,” she added to Percy with the pet name she gave him when they were younger. 

“Why me?” Annabeth just blew her blonde bangs out of her eyes and gave a pointed look to her boyfriend. “Fine. Sorry guys, I’m out. Anyone else need a ride?”

Others accepted, but Hazel and Nico said that they would call a cab. Percy also suggested they finish their game of Monopoly the next night after they get together. Nico didn’t give a straight answer about whether or not he would be coming over the next night since he wasn’t going to the dance anyways, but nobody mentioned it. He helped Frank pick up the game and move it to a table where it wouldn’t get bumped for a day as the others were at the door collecting their shoes and coats. 

“Thanks for letting me come hang out,” Nico said to Frank when just he and Hazel were left.  
Being the polite guy he was, Frank nodded and said that he was welcome at his place anytime. The two knew each other well enough since Hazel was dating Frank, and he was over at Hazel and Nico’s often. After a few awkward moments of Frank and Hazel saying goodnight to each other (by hugging, and to Nico’s horror, a kiss on the cheek), Hazel and Nico left the apartment. They couldn’t see stars outside, and the air wasn’t cold enough to see their breath. But it was chilly, and they huddled in their sweatshirts as they waited for the cab Hazel called from her cell phone moments before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty please let me know how it is in the comments! Don't worry, I'm planning on a little Jasico interaction soon enough...well, eventually. Unfortunately, Jason and Piper won't make it much longer (I'll have to do some quite noncanon things to get them to split up). 
> 
> Comments are movie theater popcorn.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Olivia


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jason and Piper go to the homecoming dance and three Monopoly players strike a deal...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to get in the habit of having lengthier chapters...someone once told me that long chapters are to-die-for. I agree :)  
> This chapter also has a little Jason/Piper, which will break off soon enough. Just not...yet.   
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Recap: Jason’s football team wins their homecoming game, and the gang goes to Frank’s house to play Monopoly afterwards. Their game is planned to continue the next night after the dance, which Jason attends with Piper McLean. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own any Percy Jackson, but Rick Riordan does. Uncle Rick--consider yourself disclaimed.

It began their second week of school.

Jason was utterly exhausted from football practices as they were happening every day of the week except Saturday and Sunday. And then they started having the twice-a-day practices, making the balance of life harder. But Jason didn’t want to just focus on football--in fact he didn’t even love it that much. But it was something to do, and he would sit at home playing video games all day if he wasn’t involved. Sure his grades might benefit a little...

He noticed there was someone new in his grade at school the second week of school, the day directly after he skipped practice. Skipping wasn’t exactly the right term, he thought, but that’s basically what it was. His mom sent an email to the coach saying he wouldn’t attend because he had an upset stomach--lie--and that he would rest for the night--another lie. Instead, Jason caught up on homework, video games, and much needed sleep.

Thus, the day after Jason skipped practice, he finally had enough sense in him to see that Piper McLean was a new student. 

In Jason Grace’s experience, there were two different types of new students. Firstly, there was the floaters. They had been shifted between a dozen different schools since they were born, not quite fitting in anywhere. The moves usually related to the parent’s jobs, but no one grew close enough to these kids to ask since they would be on their way again in about 6-9 months. 

Then there was the weirdos. Jason felt bad thinking about them in this way, but he knew it was accurate. Parents didn’t pay much attention to them, they always befriended the geeks and nerds and, well, normal people. They just never really became...popular, he reasoned, because they hadn’t been around long enough in their class? They were too shy? Too hard to befriend? Jason didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. He never had to think about them because he never interacted with them. 

Piper McLean did not fit into either of these categories. 

To Jason, she was an enigma. How someone so incredibly beautiful moved to Goode High School without a case of the weird was a mystery to him. And even more puzzling was how she seemed to be taking an interest in him, even though he hadn’t noticed her until the eighth day of school. 

It was in the middle of Latin, and he was staring at the board when his teacher, Mrs. Lupe, suddenly called on the Native American in the front row. At the name Piper, Jason’s head swiveled from the board, towards her, for no clear reason. But he blinked, and blinked again, and sure enough, a new kid was there. 

She answered a question--correctly, thought Jason to himself--and looked back at him once during the hour. 

Jason was no fool around girls. He had dated before, and was generally well liked by people--and he knew that. He smiled at her, and flirted in all the right ways, and by that Friday, Jason had her number. 

 

Everyone looked amazing. Jason had an amazing time eating dinner with Piper, taking pictures with his friends, and at the dance. Hair in a fancy up-do, Piper’s stunning kaleidoscope eyes were brought out by her white gossamer gown. He couldn’t help but feel totally in love as they danced throughout the night, totally enjoying himself. 

To him, it all seemed too perfect when Piper kissed him before they headed over to Frank’s by bus after leaving the dance. The kiss was soft, and not too long, but it was nice all the while. They had been perfectly in sync all evening, and the only thing on Jason’s mind was him wondering, Why had she gone for the kiss before he had? 

Everything seemed too perfect, in fact, that he began to suspect it would change. Things did, in fact, change, as a certain freshman came into play. But, more on that later. 

 

They arrived at Frank’s Zhang after everyone else since Jason and Piper stopped at the McDonalds down the street and walked the rest of the way. They each carried a milkshake, laughing as the held hands, and feeling utterly goofy as the waltzed into McDonalds wearing a tuxedo and floor length white dress. Then again, it was McDonalds, and weirder things had been done. 

Piper, in her thin sleeves, shivered as they walked to Frank’s, and Jason gave up his jacket to her, and lay it over her shoulders. Regardless of the warmth, they were both shivering by the time they got to Frank’s apartment. 

Mr. Zhang greeted them at the door, and they stepped inside the warm home. As expected, they were the last couple to arrive, and the others were sitting in his living room drinking hot chocolate and covered in blankets already. Jason and Piper joined them, each taking a mug. 

Leo, who did show up for pictures, but not the dance, was there, as well as Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and Nico. The kid looked out of place, wearing a tattered pair of black jeans, and a grey tee shirt under his usual black sweatshirt. Jason smiled at the kid as he sat down next to him in the same spots they were in the night before. 

Chatter centered on the dance: ridiculous things that had happened, wild stories of who-did-what and who-danced-with-who. Jason caught Nico exchanging a humored glance at Leo more than once. As they started rolling the die between the remaining players, and continued their game, Jason noticed how quiet Nico really was. It wasn’t that the kid was bored, in fact he looked happier than Jason had seen him in a while (not that he took much interest in the kid). But something about his face seemed to light up when he was around good people, and the dark shadow under his eyes had almost disappeared. 

Nico didn’t say more than a few words at a time until Percy landed on Annabeth’s fully built up pink properties. He cursed under his breath and, annoyed, shoved over the money he owed to Annabeth. She had a smirk on her face, but Percy’s loss really seemed to affect Nico. Jason paid attention when the young kid started to speak. 

“Down to the final three...” he said in a drawling voice. “Anyone up for raising the stakes?”

“What do you mean?” Annabeth asked. “Or, I should say, what do you have in mind?” She looked intrigued, and, Jason wouldn’t lie, really pretty in her soft red dress. Percy had a suit coat with a red vest underneath. He wasn’t too keen on the matchy-matchy idea, but for the couple it seemed to work. For them, anything seemed to work. Jason figured it would be the apocalypse if Percy and Annabeth broke up.

“Like, a bet,” he explained simply. “Or a deal. See, I was thinking that if I win, the two runner ups would get the pleasure of making me breakfast every morning for a week. If you can come up with an equal trade off, I’d be willing to make a deal.”

Though Hazel, as she quite clearly put it, said Nico was off his rocker, Frank thought it was a really good idea. Percy jokingly pouted about not being in the game anymore, and how he would ask for someone to bake him blue brownies if he won. But, as Annabeth reminded him, blue brownies were impossible and he couldn’t win, so he gave up his efforts. 

Jason agreed that it was a good idea, and so did Annabeth, so the group paused a moment while they thought up their ends of the bargain. 

After quiet debate with Percy, Annabeth decided that if she won, Jason and Nico would have to pay for her bus expenses for a week. Annabeth took an architecture class twice a week at the nearby college, and traveled from Goode by bus. Jason and Nico both agreed this was fair in exchange for five breakfasts. 

Jason, on the other hand, thought quietly about his own deal. Part of him wanted to make them do his homework or carry around his stuff, but Nico was taking freshman courses, not junior courses, and Annabeth would never do someone’s homework for them. Staying simple, Jason went with an easy way out. 

“If I win, runner-ups buy me a new football.” The players agreed, and shook on it. When Nico and Jason pumped their hands down, a mischievous grin crossed over Nico’s face.   
“I never lose Monopoly,” he said as Jason rolled his eyes jokingly and took the dice from his opponent's hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There have been so many Monopoly headcanons, and I really love them all, so I decided to make my own in my AU high school! It’s actually dragging on longer than I thought it would, but I think that’s okay. How do you guys feel about longer chapters? Because I’m feeling hella good about longer chapters. Also, sorry there isn’t a lot of Jasico action...like, at all. But, I’m sorta starting to see where I wanna go with this, and I’m thinking it’ll take course over Jason’s last two years at High School, really. So...sorry, but don’t expect them to get right together? Because to be honest, that’s not how I see it going. They’d more of have this epic adventure of learning to care for each other and let each other in before they start loving each other.   
> So yeah, that’s all, folks. Tonight I’m going to see Beauty and the Beast at my high school, which should be fun.   
> I have no idea when the next update will be, but stay tuned, I won’t quit.   
> Reviews are the idea of Jason waking up early on a school morning to go over and cook Nico breakfast.   
> Cheers,  
> Olivia


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I attempt to write a little bit more Nico and Jason fluff...bear with me, guys...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry I totally neglected updating for some time! Life got really busy with two robotics competitions, and on top of that, NaNoWriMo started (writing challenge to write a novel in a month). So you can imagine I’ve been busy. Also, I’m behind on my online German class...heh heh...  
> Recap: Jason, Nico, and Annabeth are left in the never-ending game of monopoly. They’ve made bets to be worked out after the game concludes.  
> Disclaimer: I don’t own any Percy Jackson, but Rick Riordan does. Uncle Rick--consider yourself disclaimed.

In the end, Jason won the game. But Nico and Annabeth didn’t go down without a fight, and the group stayed until both of them were wiped off the board. Annabeth was runner up, and Nico wasn’t a sore loser. Everything went great for Grace, especially considering he’d be getting a new football by the end of next week. The next day was Sunday, though, and Jason had apparently used too much of his energy over the past week. Things had been busy, and he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. With the cold weather quickly approaching, he came down with a cold and stayed home from school on Monday. 

He was smart about it--emailing all of his teachers about what assignments he could make up during his time off from school, submitting some of them online so he didn’t get marked down. Jason had finished all of his homework by three o’clock and sat down to play some videos games when there was a knock at the door.

His mom was away at work, so he honestly didn’t know who it could possibly be...

He got up from his place on the couch and walked to open the door in his gray tee shirt and blue plaid pajama pants. A rush of cold air hit him, causing goosebumps to form on his skin, when he opened the door.

Standing on the sunny porch was Nico.

It wasn’t  just Nico, of course. He was holding a brand new football, like promised. Jason, ever-stupid, said the first thing that came to his mind. 

“Where’s Annabeth?”

Nico almost looked like he glared at him. “Swing,” he answered quickly. “With Percy. They go after school sometimes with Hazel and Frank, remember?” 

The poor kid looked like he was going to heave--his face was three shades too pale and a greenish tint, his eyes were dark circles. 

“You can come in,” Jason said in a rush. He propped the door open and the freshman stared at him before entering slowly. “Do you want something to eat?”

“No,” Nico replied. “I’m good, thanks. Actually, I should probably be getting home soon anyways...”

“Are you sure? I have Super Smash Brothers Brawl pulled up, if you wanted to play a couple rounds. I’m home alone... I don’t think I’ll get you sick.” Jason rambled to Nico, trying to get him to stay. He only wanted to help the kid--he seemed so  sad all the time.

Jason lead him to the couch and motioned to the controllers. “Come on, just one round, then you can go. I insist.”

“Sure...” he said awkwardly, and sat down on the couch. 

Once they got set up for playing a stage, things were less awkward. Nico chose Link, and Jason chose Fox, his usual character. 

“Final destination, okay?” he asked, and Nico didn’t respond so he took it as a yes. 

The game started up--it was a seven live stock match with two CPUs, just to make things interesting. All items turned on.

Jason had to try really hard against the kid. He was good, probably too good. I wondered if he came home from school every day and played it. Probably not, but it was amusing to think so.

“Where’d you learn to play like this?” Jason asked at the end of the match. He’d completely slaughtered me--he still had three lives left. But together, we killed the CPUs. 

Nico gave a half smile, but Jason could tell it was completely fake. “Bianca and I used to play a lot, especially when we were younger and mom and dad would go away for weekends.” I nodded. Oh. I didn’t really know how to respond. 

“Well,” I concluded. “You’re free to go, thanks for playing.” I tried to grin, but it didn’t feel right. Thank god, too. Nico shook his head. 

And gave a smile that made just a little bit more sense than the previous one. “One more round, different stage. Give me all you’ve got.”

And that’s the story of how Jason and Nico spent three hours sitting on the couch playing video games together, hardly speaking but rather just spending time in each other’s presence. It was a nice change for the freshman, but a rather uncomfortable one.

Dinner was soon approaching, it was 6:15.

“You know,” Nico said, “I really should be getting home now.” They finished their last match, and Jason persistently asked him if he wanted to stay for dinner. 

“You know, it’s really no trouble.”

But Nico was adamant, and kept insisting that he should make it home. “I already told Hazel I’d be home,” he kept saying. “I wouldn’t want her to worry.”

Eventually, Jason let the kid go home. “Thanks again for the football!” he called out the door as Nico walked down the sidewalk. Knowing very well that he should offer the ride, Jason hesitated before calling out one last time. Instead, he just sent a quick text to Hazel:  Let me know when Nico gets home okay, he was over for a few hours . 

With a heavy heart, Jason read her response that came a minute later.  I told him I was eating at Franks for dinner.

So Nico was skipping dinner at Jason’s just so he could skip dinner at his own house.

Your parents home? he texted back.

No, she said.  I’ll get home asap to check on him. Frank can drive. Thanks for letting me know...

Jason knew it wasn’t his business, though he now felt responsible caring for the boy. 

Nico would disagree. They weren’t friends, they weren’t close in any way, and spending three hours at Jason’s house was the most awkward experience of his life.

Especially when Jason asked him to stay for dinner. 

How many ways did he have to say  no to get the point across. 

Besides, he wasn’t hungry. And he still had some homework left to do, including reading for  To Kill a Mockingbird for his English class which he  really did not want to do. He could always Sparknotes it, he supposed, but he’d probably get more out of it if he started reading right when he got home. 

He took his backpack up to his room and pulled his book from it. He threw it on his bed, then pulled his shirt off and looked in the mirror.

Knowing he was definitely home alone, he took his time looking at the bruises on his ribcage. They were a bit darker than he wanted, knowing he’d have to cover it up a little. It nearly reached up to his shoulder, completely covering his entire left side. What was now just a light purple would probably darken over the week. And it turn to the touch.

And then he heard the garage door open, and he scrambled to get his shirt back on. Just in the nick of time, there was a knock on his door and Nico flopped back down on his bed.

“Can I come in?” It was Hazel’s voice. His step sister wasn’t supposed to be home yet...

“Yup,” he said, and turned the page of his book, pretending he was reading. He glanced to make sure his shirt was covering his skin and wasn’t riding up to show his bruises. 

“How was Frank’s?” he said, maintaining a casual tone, hoping it was working, oh god, please let it be working.

“Good, yeah,” she said, her thumbs in the belt loops of her high rise jeans. “It was good until Jason texted me and said you didn’t stick around for dinner, what was that about?” 

Nico didn’t let it show on his face, doing his absolute best acting--and he’d gotten pretty good over the past few years. 

“Oh, I came home and I ate,” he said. He chose his words carefully, hating to lie to his sister. 

“And you put your dishes away, how responsible of you?” Hazel reprimanded him, knowing fully well that Nico never cooked for himself  or put his dishes away. It wasn’t that he wasn’t self sufficient, it’s that he just refused to let the food in his system. 

It dawned on Hazel that if Bianca were still around, Nico would have an older sister  and  a younger sister to look after him, and that things wouldn’t be so difficult for Hazel. Maybe Nico would even be happier--no, he’d  definitely be happier. Less broken. Little did Hazel even  know .

“What’d you make?” she probed, trying to get it out of Nico that he’d skipped dinner yet  again .

“I’m fine, Hazel,” he said. His tone was clipped, annoyed. “You can stop looking after me like I’m a little kid.”  Oops, that came out harsher than he meant it. 

“I wouldn’t treat you like a kid if you didn’t act like one!” she said exasperated, then she gasped after she said it.

Nico’s gaze went from innocent to murderous in a matter of seconds. 

“Get out,” he said.

“Nico, I didn’t mean it,” she said, trying to explain. But Hazel had made a mistake, and she knew the way she treated Nico’s depression and anxiety had been inexcusable. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, and left the room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand that’s where I’m going to leave it. Sorry guys! I wanted to post this (probably earlier than I should have since it’s not really done). But instead, I’ll just let you guys find out more about what’s happening with Nico in the next chapter. No, he’s not really opening up to Jason. Maybe only a little, because he needs a friend. You’ll seeeee :)  
> Reviews are all of the snow in my yard finally melting.  
> Cheers,  
> Olivia


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jason falls behind in school, Piper goes to a wild party (but not really), and Leo gets recruited...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry I haven't updated in forever. I got really busy with National Novel Writing Month, school, and various other things. On a good note: school will be over soon, so more updates (hopefully)!

Jason would never admit that he was struggling with his grades, let alone that he was having trouble focusing in school. Football season was coming to a close, October passing just as quickly as came. With it came to the cooler weather--no one was wearing shorts anymore, people often came to school dressed in jackets or even scarves. The constant sweat and heat that plagued the school was all but gone, replacing it with a type of physical closed off-ness between students and their peers. Even teachers grew more irritable as students settled in and grew more comfortable goofing off in class. 

He found himself talking to Annabeth after class one day, trying to get help on his math homework. 

“Yeah, sure,” was her clippy reply. Just let me know when you want me to come over.”

“Today work?” They were almost getting pulled apart by the thwarting crowd on all sides. 

“Can’t, it’s Percy’s swim meet you know, and I said I’d be there to support him.” She sounded apologetic, but there was no need; Annabeth had every right to her previous obligations. 

“Well how about this weekend--?” But a wave of kids from the lunch room came from a set of double doors, and she left him, saying through the mass that they could get in touch about it later.

 

Piper was exhausted, and not just because she had gotten up early to finish her homework. It was, rather, that she’d been out too late, and the combination of staying out and waking early wasn’t something she was used to. In fact, if she could have her way, she wouldn’t normally do it. But her newly made friend, Drew, wanted her to come to her house that night.

Piper was under the impression is was just a few girls from the cheer team getting together. 

Drew’s parents weren’t home, though, and her definition of get-together was quite different from Piper’s.

For starters, there were at least a hundred people. Piper was good at making friends, she’d moved too many times for that skill to have evaded her. Maybe it was genetic--her charming and charismatic personality persuaded others not just to talk to her, but to genuinely like her. There were so many people to talk to, and she wasn’t out of her element. She often attended events for her dads movies, meeting stars and their kids, getting special treatment from waiters in fancy suits with sparkling beverages and small appetizers.

Drew’s party was nothing like this; everything was wild. It was a Thursday night, and Piper couldn’t imagine throwing a party like this on a weeknight, let alone attending one. 

As a new kid, she just suspected Drew was trying to be friendly, inviting her to something like this. But if Piper had known how out of control it was going to be... At the first sign of seeing someone drinking something not age appropriate, Piper was out. She’d drunk alcohol before, but being new at school, Piper didn’t want to get caught by police, in trouble with the law. 

She knew her dad wouldn’t care. 

Her mom wasn’t in the picture anymore, and it often felt like her dad wasn’t either. Tristan McLean’s list of priorities didn’t seem to include Piper near the top, and her mind, she wasn’t on it at all. When she was younger, she had thought it would be impossible for someone to ignore their children. And she was seemingly right at the time. Tristan loved her to pieces, and they spent lots of time together. 

The older Piper got, the less she saw her dad. Now sixteen, and needing him most, Piper practically raised herself in the penthouse. She saw no glamour in it; while all her peers wished for freedom and luxurious material items, Piper desperately wished for her old dad back.

So when she left Drew’s party at about ten thirty that night, bearing no curfew in mind, the cheerleader knew she was only doing it for herself. 

When she woke the next morning, yawning and frazzled, she pulled on comfortable clothes. Normally, she wouldn’t be this tired. But cheer practice after school and an excessive amount of homework led her to stay up late, trying to cram in studying for all her tests and quizzes. 

At six forty-three in the morning, she hopped on the city bus and was on her way to Goode High School.

 

Leo preferred solitude to working with others, and the instance of building random gadgets and devices was no exception. He thought everyone knew that, though perhaps he was mistaken because that Friday, he was approached by dark-eyed girl with a set jaw.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said, sliding into the empty seat next to him before class started that morning. Leo was distracted, sketching ideas for a new machine he’d attempt to build when he got home. He hardly noticed her, and was startled when he looked up to see that she was talking to him. 

With rusty social skills, Leo didn’t reply anything. Rather, he stared, probably not good manneredly, at the girl in front of him.

It wasn’t that girls were a foreign species to him--he was friends with Hazel and Annabeth, and was starting to get to know his best friend’s girlfriend, Piper. 

But outside his ring of friends, Leo had seldom interacted with members of the opposite gender. 

“Can I help you?” He tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice, so it ended up just sounding annoyed. 

“Hello to you too,” she said, and grinned. Now that he was looking at her, Leo could get a better picture of what she looked like. The girl was in his grade, he knew that much. Maybe in his woodshop class--she had a familiar look to him. Her hair was dark brown and had a wavy sheen to it. It was tied away from her face, and she had a red bandana on her head, acting as a headband. Her eyes were golden brown, pretty, and seemed to refract light that entered them. She had cocoa brown skin, and was wearing comfortable looking blue jeans. A tank top under her unbuttoned plaid showed her curvy figure. 

Leo’s inexperience with talking to others was evident, and under her glowing smile was a hint of anxiousness in her voice, too.

“I’m Nyssa,” she held out a hand to him, which he gingerly shook. Her grip was strong, her hands calloused, which he noticed like one might notice a striking feature upon meeting a stranger. 

“Nice to meet you.”

“I took woodshop last year,” she clarified, “If you couldn’t remember. Anyways, I’m here on behalf of the school’s robotics team.”

“We have a robotics team?” Leo asked. Though he’d attended the school all throughout high school, he found out something new everyday that he’d previously missed or hadn’t cared enough to find out about. 

She laughed, and said to him, “Well, yeah. We’re not that good, we’re only a few years old. And a couple years ago, there was a senior on the team, his name was Charles Beckendorf. He was kinda legendary, you know, everyone liked him and he was wicked good with robots. When he was on the team, we made it to nationals. But he graduated, and we haven’t done well since.” Nyssa was still at the desk next to him, and she glanced up at the clock.

“We’re having an informational type meeting next week--we’re trying to recruit new students. But I thought I would seek you out personally. You know the way a person hears stuff... I hear you’re pretty good with that kind of stuff. So think it over, and email me if you might be interested.” She dug into her deep pockets of her loose, low rise jeans, and handed him a piece of paper with her number.   
“I gotta get to class now, Leo. Hopefully I’ll hear from you.” She stood up, and was gone from the classroom with nothing more than the sway of her hips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of a filler chapter, but I liked writing from the trio's perspective. I'll probably continue to do so in later chapters, showing more of the lives and everything of the other characters.   
> Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Comments are the Panic! at the Disco concert I get to go to this summer!
> 
> Cheers,  
> Olivia


	7. Chapter 7

The day Jason crashed his car was the day he lost all respect for himself.

But first, Halloween.

* * *

On the last day before the marking period ended, Percy had volunteered to have the Halloween party in his apartment. It was an annual tradition for him and his friends, and though they weren’t much into costumes, they all liked to pig out on candy and crowd together on the couch to watch scary movies.

This year was no different, and his friends came over for a few hours that night. Annabeth had been over for dinner an hour earlier, and she helped him get his house ready. Mrs. Jackson loved her son’s girlfriend, and considered her an almost-permanent-resident, so long as she didn’t spend the night. Paul was there too, though he and Percy’s mom would leave and go out to dinner, leaving the house to Percy and his friends. There was a substantial amount of trust between him and his parents.

He and Annabeth sat in the living room, scarfing down their pizza quickly. They wanted to have a few minutes to each other before anyone else got there. For someone so skinny, he was an incredibly fast eater, and they cuddled on the couch together talking about nothing and everything. He quietly played with her hair while she told him about the new things going on in her life.

“My professor wants me to have a meeting with him soon, just us,” she said lazily with her eyes closed.

“What for?” Percy asked.

“My future,” she said, imitating her squat little professor of her architecture class who often spoke about such things with great enthusiasm. “I think he just wants to know what my plans are, and if I’ve started looking at colleges and such. Boring stuff like that,” she added, with a hint of pleasure in her voice.

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“I guess it is, isn’t it?” Annabeth said.

“So have you?”

“Have I what?”

Percy cleared his throat. “Started looking into colleges.”

“Oh,” Annabeth said. “I mean... Yeah. A little. But we’re barely juniors.”

Percy was silent. It wasn’t that he struggled with school, but his dyslexia and ADHD certainly didn’t help him academically. He figured anywhere Annabeth got in wasn’t even going to be in the range of schools he would apply to. Low self-confidence in his abilities had nothing to do with it. Annabeth was simply incredibly gifted, and Percy’s talents lay elsewhere.

Annabeth, who always knew exactly what Percy was thinking.

She squeezed his hand and placed their folded fingers over his heart. “Don’t worry about it, Seaweed Brain. We’ll make it, I swear.”

* * *

Percy took pride in his parties. Not because he had a really cool apartment, or because he always invited a lot of people--Percy wasn’t even that popular. No, people liked to go to Percy’s because of his parents’ lax rules of alcohol.

It seemed like such a trivial thing. Sure, Jason could probably get him into something legendary where people stayed up all night taking shots and exploring every nook and cranny of the house. Even Annabeth had been invited to her fair share of “get-togethers” that lasted more than a few hours into the night. But Percy-and-friends weren’t in it to get drunk--they just wanted to have some fun.

Sally even bought them a couple twelve packs of beer before she left with Paul, giving him the privacy needed to hang out with his friends in a safe environment. That was what she claimed her house: a safe place where kids could drink and have fun. Maybe that put a little damper on things, knowing it was still a parent chaperoned party (essentially), but it made no difference to Percy’s friends. As long as they didn’t have to worry about getting caught every once in awhile, it didn’t matter where they were or what alcohol there was to drink.

Leo was first to get there, grinning as usual. He was in a clean pair of jeans and a polo. Leo looked nice, compared to all other times when he was usually in grease stained clothes from working on his various projects. While waiting for the others to arrive, Leo caught Percy and Annabeth up to speed on the goings-on of the robotics club, which he’d recently decided to join. They stood around a bowl of chips chatting with upbeat music playing on the stereo behind them.

Hazel and Frank came next, holding hands and acting cute as always. Piper and Jason arrived not much later, but Jason’s cheeks were flushed and Piper’s hair, askew. It didn’t take a genius to know what they’d been doing before they came.

Percy extended the invitation to one more party guest, at last minute. Nico di Angelo had been invited to the party. Now in high school, it seemed appropriate to see if he wanted to come. Nico was only a freshman, but he seemed like a tough kid, and it’s not like Percy’s parties were wild and out of control.

Nico hadn’t texted Percy back, giving him no indication of whether or not he would show. Hazel claimed to have no idea what Nico’s plans were, but it wasn’t hard to notice the hurt in her eyes in her reply.

* * *

Nico di Angelo wanted to get himself totally and completely drunk, but he didn't have the resources to do it.

He hated every ounce of himself as he buzzed Percy’s apartment from the steps outside. He hated every inch of himself as he walked up Percy’s stairs. He hated he hated he hated...

He knocked.

* * *

Hazel and Nico were having daily fights. Their parents were out of town and placed a wild amount of trust in their sort-of-sufficient children. Hazel tried to keep them both fed and happy and safe. She was struggling to succeed as soon as the job was handed to her.

Contrary to popular belief, Nico did not try to make Hazel’s life harder.

Early Halloween morning, Nico took a walk around downtown Manhattan. He stopped at a coffee shop and bought himself a drink and a scone. Drink: double shot espresso. Scone: cranberry. He wanted the chocolate chip scone, but there were only two left and the girls behind him were chatting excitedly about what they were going to choose. It happened to be the chocolate chip that they wanted, and Nico hated to disappoint.

He took it all to go and walked toward the cemetery. Something Nico didn’t tell his friends often: he was superstitious. Well, slightly. Halloween was the day before the day of the dead. It was as good a reason as any to visit his mother’s and sister’s grave.

Visiting graves was not something Nico did often. Hazel had gone with him on Halloween last year. She thought it would help since Bianca was no longer with him, and there would be two graves to visit instead of one. The whole event left Nico feeling drained, and he wrote it off as a disaster. Hazel told him crying was natural and healthy. Nico hated crying in front of people, especially his new sister. What started as an attempt to bridge their differences ended in shouting and desperation. Nico hated thinking about it.

He and Hazel got along just fine for awhile. Hazel really seemed to be helping him. That is, when Nico allowed her to help. But as predicted by everyone he lived with (for he did not consider them family--his last true family member died two years ago), coming into high school was an experience he would find harder than most kids his age. When school started and the people in his life started changing, he completely withdrew from her.

Again: not Hazel’s fault.

Which meant Nico blamed himself. It was an ever-spiraling pit of self blame and self hate, and he didn’t have an outlet.

At the graves, Nico sat and quietly watched his sister’s and mother’s headstones. He ate his stone and drank his coffee. He did not cry because he cried enough last year for one hundred lifetimes. He vowed to come back and visit again soon.

And then he left.

The rest of the day was spent anxiously. Tomorrow, he would spend time with his father and stepmother and Hazel. They would remember and pay respect to his mom and Bianca, but only he would truly remember her. The whole ordeal hurt to think about.

“Mom and Dad” were hardly around. They hardly constituted as parents in Nico’s mind. “Away on business” was the most bile phrase uttered from their thin lips--a phrase that Nico and Hazel heard quite often.

After doing a little homework, Nico ventured out of his bedroom and hung around downstairs. His boredom led to thoughts, and his thoughts lead to Bianca. The year before her accident, Nico and she had gone out trick-or-treating. He didn’t go out last year. He was in high school now, and Nico didn’t want the candy anyway.

By 5 pm, Nico couldn’t get Bianca out of his head. The day of her crash had been the longest day of his life. Heading home from a weekend at their cottage in the country, they got driven off the road by a semi. It had crashed straight into Bianca’s side of the car, and the last thing he had said to her was, “Tell me the story about what you found in your cafeteria food, again!” Bianca had just started high school at the time she was killed. It was late September. The day came and went, and people acknowledged it, but to most people, it was old news.

He was driving himself insane, replaying the moment in his head over and over again. If their car had been just a little bit faster, the semi would have missed. If they had exited the freeway when Nico first proclaimed he had to pee, the semi would have missed. If they had gone back for Bianca’s book she left behind at the cottage--realizing it was missing and turning back instead of deciding it was too late--the semi would have missed.

But the semi did not miss.

It crushed the back passenger side door of Mr. di Angelo’s SUV. It crushed the kid in the back passenger seat.

And years later, it was still crushing Nico, who just couldn’t let go of the memories of his sister.

* * *

Everyone was surprised: Nico could hold alcohol extremely well.

Hazel did not drink. She wasn’t against it morally, she just didn’t like the idea of being taken from her right-minded thoughts. Frank respected it, as did all her friends. None of them pressured her, especially not her brother.

Hazel did not drink. But she was no doubt aware of her brother’s habit to steal liquor every now and then from their parent’s stash.

Nico hid it from her the best he could. He wasn’t sneaky or secretive about it, but he didn’t shove it in her face, either. Whenever he drank at home, he’d clean up carefully, leaving no signs. Usually, Hazel didn’t know it happened.

Which was why she was amazed to see her 110 lbs. brother out-drinking her friends.

Nico had arrived the party already loose. He came by bus--Hazel saw his bus pass sticking out of his jeans pocket. His eyes were a little red in the corners, meaning he’d probably already had something to drink a little while ago.

He was on his third beer since he got there, and he still wasn’t slurring his speech.

Her other friends were cheering Nico on. They played drinking games and talked about the future like drunken fools. Hazel didn’t mind--it was entertaining. By being the sober one, she felt a affectionate rush of responsibility for her friends. Younger than most of them, but still just as close to them, she had less experience with alcohol. But it comforted her to know that she’d be here in case anything happened.

That’s what she kept telling herself.

That’s what she kept cursing to herself afterwards.

I should have been there. Something happened, and I wasn’t there like I promised myself I’d be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> I'm back! I didn't abandon! Sure it took a year, but still. I should get at least a little credit for coming back?  
> Hope you've all been well. Sorry I sorta posted this chapter unfinished, but I was eager to post, so I'll do "crash pt 2" in the next chapter.  
> Let me know what you thought in the reviews.  
> Reviews are when an author doesn't forget about their fic, and they update after you thought they abandoned.  
> Cheers,  
> Liv


	8. Chapter 8

“You can plug your phone into the aux chord if you want,” Jason said to break the silence. Nico wasn’t saying much; he sat silently in the shotgun seat, alternating between looking out the right window and looking out the front.

“Yeah, okay. I guess,” Nico said. “What kind of music do you like?”

Jason paused. “Usually rock. I like mellow stuff, too. But you’re in the passenger seat, you control the music.” Nico nodded and put on a soft pop song. It didn’t really fit into any genres that Jason knew of. 

The music seemed to have relaxed, Nico though. He slumped back into the seat, a little, making himself more at home. Less like the stiff boy he was when he entered the car with Jason. Jason noticed the change immediately. Nico went from being loose from alcohol and happy in the moment to more reserved, more like himself. 

Jason wondered if it was because Nico didn’t like him all that much. He had only offered to give the boy a ride home. Nico could have declined, using Percy or public transportation as an excuse. But Nico accepted and went with Jason after goodbyes were said. The girls were staying for an impromptu sleepover, something that apparently girls did. Which left only Leo and Frank for Percy to bus home. Jason knew Hazel and Nico’s home was close to his own, so he offered to take Nico home.

“What song is this?” Jason said, breaking the silence yet again. That exact pattern had developed. Noise ceased at a certain point in the conversation, and Jason would be the one to break the quietness. 

“The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco,” Nico said. “It’s, uh...by the band The Lucksmiths. Have you heard of them?”

“No, that’s quite a song title,” Jason said. Though Jason was coherent enough to drive, a car, he was not quite coherent enough to be driving around other cars. He swerved just a bit to avoid floating into the incoming lane of traffic. A truck honked its horn loudly at him, and he said fuck off under his breath. Nico just inhaled sharply and released his air slowly.

“Yeah, they are kind of a weird band. But they’re chill. I like that.” They approached a stop sign and Jason stopped a little too late--coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the intersection. Luckily, there were no cars around. “Uh, Jason?” Nico said. “Are you sure you should be driving?”

“Mmm?”

“You wanna pull over and let me drive?”

“Nico, you’re like, fourteen. I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Jason said.

Jason had been drunk before. He held alcohol fairly well. But there was something about being in his car, in this situation with Nico di Angelo that loosed him up even more. He had never driven while drunk until then. 

He wouldn’t particularly recommend it, either. 

It was rather hard to concentrate. 

Jason looked for the turn to Nico's street. He knew it was coming up. Nico's eyes were closed, though, and the boy wasn't prepared to remind Jason when to turn.   
Whitmore, Whitmore, Whitmore, he thought, looking for the Whitmore Street sign. I must be in the wrong place. Jason sped up, hoping to catch a major street and turn around. 

And then he saw Whitmore. 

The car was flying by at 40 mph as Jason made the left turn. 

In actuality, something much worse could have happened. But fate, working as fate does, was at ease that night. 

A few things happened:

Jason turned the car so hard, he hit the curb on the side of the road. 

The car didn't turn fast enough, and only the stop sign inside the curb was there to keep them from going farther. 

And Nico, thankfully wearing his seatbelt, slammed into the passenger side door with unmatched force and velocity. Nico’s side of the car hit the stop sign in the end of the back door, missing the boy by a few feet. 

Jason screamed in those few seconds, and Nico was chillingly silent. His heart thumping through his shoulder blades, Nico regained calm by steadying his breaths and Jason panted inside the stopped car. 

“Oh my god I'm so sorry,” Jason said at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took twelve years. I found it in my drive and figured a shorter chapter was better than no chapter. I'm not /abandoning/ this story, but I'm definitely working on WWMFT more, so go check that one out. It's a lot better (in my opinion) than this HS AU. As always, feel free to comment. I'd love to hear your suggestions on where this story should go.
> 
> Cheers,  
> Liv


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Hey folks, it's been ages. I reread the story last night, realized I should update even if I kinda hate where I left off, mostly because I said I'd never leave this story. So, at last, a new chapter. Rereading was the cringiest thing ever--I'm not sure why I let Jason drive home drunk, that makes no sense at all because he's a smart kid. But I'm trying to deal with it in a way that makes sense. Ahh whatever.
> 
> Recap: Jason gets in a car crash (drunk) with Nico (also drunk). Hazel is already home.

Jason had never been luckier. In his year and a half of having a driver’s license, he’d never gotten into an accident. Always considering himself a cautious driver, Jason took pride in this fact. Something could have gone wrong--more wrong than hitting the stop sign. His heart was pounding fast when he glanced at Nico, who sat in the seat opposite with a steeled look on his face.

What has gotten into me? he asked himself. He _never_ thought he’d drive drunk. Why did his friends even let him? It didn’t make sense.

The ordeal was over within minutes. The driver of the other car slowed down, turned around, and circled back to check on Jason and Nico.

“I saw what happened”-- “Are you okay?!”-- “Do you need me to call someone?” But Jason shook his head, desperate not to let his alcohol show.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just exchange information and talk later. It’s late.” So Jason took his number and assured him he’d call in the morning.

This would be hard to explain to his mother, who trusted him to drive their car, which they shared, out that night. She’d most likely be furious, but he’d tell her in the morning. By that point, Jason wanted nothing more than to curl up in his bed and let himself drift off into nothingness for a few hours.

Feeling incredibly sobered up by the whole thing, he got inside and drove away. His car was driveable--the only real damage was some nasty denting on the passenger side near the headlights. He thanked god the whole ride home that nothing worse had happened.

Nico didn’t talk to him the whole way back to his house. Jason could feel the fear, hatred, and loathing radiating from the boy to his right.

How would he ever be able to properly apologize? _Sorry I drove you home while I was still drunk, and kept driving even after you pointed out I shouldn’t be driving. Sorry I crashed us into a stop sign on your own street. Sorry I definitely put your life at risk tonight, that’s not fair, and we should have just Ubered._  
 _The way to Nico’s house was just a short jog down the street. In fact, Jason wondered why Nico didn’t just walk home._

“I’m so sorry, Nico,” Jason said as they sat parked in the driveway, his car still on. “This was ridiculously out of line. I don’t have any clue what we were thinking, me driving and all...”

Jason could tell Nico was pissed because the exhale through his mouth seemed to take forever.

“Your folks care if you spend the night somewhere?” Nico asked carefully. Jason could see where this was going, and answered with a slight shake of his head.  
“Good, you’ll sleep in the guest bedroom.” Jason wanted to object, but knew he was in no place to argue. There was no way Nico would let him drive home after the accident, especially still intoxicated. People were shaken up, their nerves on edge. As someone who knew what being in an accident felt like, Nico was watching out for Jason’s psyche, was well as his safety. “You need rest,” he continued. “Let’s go.” 

* * *

Jason sent a quick text to his mom, letting him know he was safe and spending the night at Percy’s. A little white lie never hurt anyone.

Stepping inside Nico’s home was like gaining a glimpse into his whole world. Everything in the interior was shiny silver or black. Silver fridge, black cabinets. Silver oven and microwave, black sink and faucet. He could see where Nico got his sense of style. It was completely different from what Jason was used to. His own house was entirely different--strewn with color and disorder and, well, it looked like people lived there. Nico’s house looked practically uninhabited, if not for the shoes on the mat and cup on the table.

As they walked in, Hazel emerged from a door with her phone charger swinging in her hand. She looked over and saw Nico, then went back to plugging her phone in, doing a complete double take seconds after the fact.

“Jason,” she said. “Everything okay?” Clearly Nico didn’t have guests over often.

“Yes,” Nico said quickly. “Uh, kinda. Well, Jason hit a stop sign.”

“You shouldn’t have been driving!” she exclaimed. So much for looking out for all her friends. “I thought you were going home with...” she faltered. “Percy? Or... God, this is totally my fault, I should have been paying attention.” It was pretty amazing that she managed to miss that important fact--as well as Nico driving home with the very intoxicated Jason Grace. “I feel horrible. But I’m so glad you guys are okay. You’re staying the night I take it? Let’s get you settled,” she said, already turning around to head back upstairs.

Jason quickly took off his shoes, risking a glance at Nico, who looked relieved to have the hospitality role off his shoulders. He took his time in the kitchen, grabbing himself a glass of water before going upstairs after the two.

Hazel set Jason up in the guest bedroom next to her own. She made sure he had enough pillows and blankets, that the temperature was alright for him. Jason assured her everything was fine. Truly, he was desperate to get some sleep. At last, she left him alone, heading to her room and shutting the door.  
The door was still open and he was on his phone when Nico walked by and check inside.

“You all set?” he made sure before leaving to go into his own room.

“Think so,” Jason said. “Honestly, I feel like I’m gonna hurl, but--”

“No buts, I’m getting you a bucket.” Nico left quickly and came back with a small, clean trash can. “Here.” He handed the bucket to Jason who accepted it gratefully, setting it by his bedside in case he needed it for later use.

“How are you so sober right now?” Jason asked.

Nico hesitated, still hovering in the doorframe. “I’m not,” he conceded. “I can just hold it better than you. Seriously, Grace, get some rest. I’ll chew you out tomorrow, but you should get some sleep or you’ll start getting the spins.”

With that, Nico flicked off Jason’s bedroom light and closed the door to a crack.

“Night,” Jason called, setting his phone down on the bedside table. He sighed, already feeling his head start to dance around. After a few sips of water, he lay his head back down and did his best to fall asleep.

It only took him a minute. 

* * *

The sun was already high when Jason woke up. He checked his phone--11:03--and rolled back over. He knew he couldn’t lie there forever. The horrific memories from the night before were already rushing back to him. But still, just a few more minutes would be nice...

Before he could get comfortable, his phone buzz, and Jason instinctively reached a hand over to check.

A text from his mother-- _That’s fine_. With a yawn, Jason swung himself out of bed and made his way downstairs.

Hazel was nowhere to be found, unfortunately, but Nico was sitting at the table eating an apple while checking his phone.

“Good morning, Grace,” he said with faux courtesy. “How’d you sleep, I seem to remember hearing retching at some ungodly hour last night.” Though Nico acted mad, there was still a hint of a smile on his face. Jason could see he was mostly joking, though it was true, Jason couldn’t keep his stomach calm last night.

_How did he find himself here?_ Waking up hungover with a smashed car and Nico di Angelo. It was a strange slew of events that he wouldn’t have been able to fathom mere weeks before.

Kinder this time, Nico said, “You look like you need some coffee. Sit down, you want a Pop Tart or an apple?” he said from the kitchen while Jason sank into the couch.

A few minutes later, Jason was munching on a Pop Tart while Nico brought over coffee for them both.

“So,” he started, handing a mug to Jason. “So basically, never do that again or I’ll be slapping your drunk ass home. We were all too gone to be making that choice. It was a really stupid choice, and everyone there shares some of the blame. But still, never do that again.”

Jason felt a pang of regret. “It was _so_ so wrong, and I’m sorry,” he insisted. “I can’t be sincere enough.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Nico grumbled. “That’s not what this is about, though I would question it if you made a habit of driving around passengers while drunk. What I’m saying is, we all screwed up. Just don’t let it happen again or I’ll come haunt you.”

Jason chuckled at the thought. “Yeah, I get it,” he said. “I’m not even sure my mom’ll let me drive again, so it probably won’t matter.”  
Nico was quiet while Jason looked for something to say.

“So where are your parents?” he tried. Though it might be a sensitive topic, he tried anyway, hoping Nico could see he was reaching out and really wanted to be his friend, which he did.

“Um, they’re away on business. Damara, the house lady... well, I don’t really know what she is. She looks after the house when my dad and stepmom are gone. She cooks us dinner on weeknights. Basically is around in case one of us is dying and they can’t get to us soon enough...” He trailed off, realizing he was rambling. “She’s gone too, normally doesn’t stick around on weekends.”

“I kinda understand,” Jason replied. “My dad’s not in the picture, and my mom is about as uninvolved as they get.”

For awhile, they chatted about their families--at least the parts that were deemed okay to talk about, and moved onto other things like school and video games. Before Jason knew it, it was almost one in the afternoon.

“Okay, I should _definitely_ get going by now,” Jason said. “Sorry I stayed so long, time just sorta--”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll see you in school,” Nico said as Jason pulled on his shoes and walked out the door. As soon as he was out of Nico’s sight, he should his head a little, double checking that he wasn’t dreaming.

How’d he just spend an entire morning with Nico di Angelo, the infamously emotionally damaged ninth grader. The kid was nice, he just needed some people who understood him.

On the way home, Jason thought about all the strange things that had taken place over the past 24 hours. He did not, however, think about how he was going to breach the subject of the dented car to his mother, but he could cross the bridge when it came. No, he’d rather think about the mystery of what just happened, and how he could arrange to see Nico again. It was the strangest feeling--his pull to the younger boy, but he was sure he didn’t imagine the past three hours. _Please tell me I’m not crazy_ he begged the higher beings as he drove home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was satisfactory.
> 
> Reviews are like the anticipation of Christmas morning.
> 
> Cheers,  
> Liv


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